Out of the Shadows
by Ultra Rodimus
Summary: After RaiRyu is captured by the enemy, FuuRyu searches desperately to find him. But will RaiRyu make it out with his sanity intact? Character torment, Fuu/Rai slash


Author's Note: This fic was plotted out and typed as a request by Rinny101, awesome mecha slash artist. I hope you like this one, Rinny

This fic is not part of my Metamorphosis Saga; this one is a stand-alone. The basic plot outline was given to me by Rinny when she asked me to write her a fic, and I expanded on it. This is what I came up with.

Disclaimer: I do not own GaoGaiGar. I'm just borrowing the characters.

**Out of the Shadows**

Three weeks.

That had been how long he had been held captive, held in those cruel chains and shackles, completely at the mercy of his captors. If his comrades and his brother ever found him, they would not recognize what was left of him.

RaiRyu slumped against his chains, letting them support his weight, head hanging. His air filters rattled unhealthily as he drew in air to circulate through his systems. G-liquid and hydraulic fluid stained what was left of once vibrant yellow armor. Most of it had been stripped off carelessly and tossed aside, his pleas and cries falling on deaf ears. He had fought, but that had accomplished nothing. It had only resulted in electric shocks being applied to his circuitry until he subsided, crying out in pain. That had been when he had been chained up, and he had been left in those chains the whole time he'd been held there.

At least there was one bright spark in the agony that had become his entire existance: when he had been taken, they had not caught his brother.

The GGG Mobile Unit had been tangling with yet another alien machine when he'd noticed figures sneaking up on his brother FuuRyu. Without even stopping to think he'd thrown himself in the way, shouting for his twin to run. FuuRyu had jumped aside out of pure surprise, foiling the aim of those trying to creep up on him, and they had promptly turned on the yellow twin. FuuRyu had tried to come to RaiRyu's rescue, crying out for him, but RaiRyu had not wanted him to come any closer. He'd thrown lightning at his twin to drive him back. The green mech had finally gotten the message and backed off as a net of some sort was thrown over the fighting lightning mech, and then his vision had gone white as his systems were overloaded. He'd come around as he'd been dragged into his current prison, immediately starting to fight again, for all the good it had done. He'd been shocked into submission, shackled to the wall, and then the torment had begun.

Anything that could possibly be done to a mech without terminating him had been done. His armor had been peeled off in pieces as if with a can opener, lasers had been applied to delicate sensor nodes, acid had been poured into his fuel lines. Most of his internals had been dismantled and studied, then put carelessly back together and stuck back into place. He had more leaks than he could count, steadily leaking fluids, and the fuel he was given was full of grit. Nor was he given enough. So far the only part of him that hadn't been picked at yet was the GS-Ride, since tampering with that would kill him. That hadn't stopped them from poking at it and running scans that created skitzes in his power supply. His tolerance for pain had been tested by poking and prodding sensors with white-hot metal, pouring acid onto his circuitry, taking parts apart slowly and as painfully as possible. His faceplate was streaked with optic cleaning fluid, his tears. They only took notes and continued. He had screamed until he'd blown his vocorder, and they still only took notes, documenting every detail.

But he was alone, and that was what counted.

--

Back at the GGG Orbit Base, FuuRyu was going frantic. He had been forced to watch helplessly while his brother had been captured, yellow limbs spasming from overload shock before going utterly limp. Then he'd been forced to leave before the swarming humans and machines could come after him again. He had not wanted to leave; he had wanted to stay and fight to save RaiRyu.

"He is most likely dead by now," their creator, Yan Long-Li, told him off-handedly.

FuuRyu's eyes flared red, and for the first time he turned on his own creator. The Chinese scientist had stood there in utter shock, caught completely by surprise, as the much larger mech gave him an earful to remember. The green mech would not leave the Orbit Base or give up his search until he found proof of his twin's fate. It would take seeing and touching the yellow mech's blasted, ruined shell for him to give RaiRyu up for dead. As it was, he knew in his very core that his twin was still alive. How, he could not explain, but he knew. He just knew.

"He's part of you, and you can feel his presence," HyoRyu told him. "EnRyu and I are the same way. The humans can't understand... none of them are twins, and none has the kind of bond with their families as we do with our brothers. Trust me, you would know if RaiRyu had left this existance. If you can feel him then he's still alive."

The green robot seized on this, knowing that there was a chance to save his twin brother. He managed to recruit Volfogg, who was on Earth more often than not, as Mamoru's bodyguard, to help him. Though Volfogg's assistance mostly extended to what he would do while on his regular patrols; he had his own duties to perform. Mamoru helped when he could; he had learned to sense the GGG mecha to some degree, though he couldn't pick up anything from RaiRyu. That didn't stop FuuRyu from continuing his frantic search for his twin.

--

RaiRyu's optics barely flickered at the sound of footsteps. The torturers were returning for the next round. The yellow mech sighed internally, wondering wearily what they were going to do to him this time. He just wanted it to end, for them to end the torment and let him escape into that eternal darkness he was already so close to.

In his chest the GS-Ride pulsed and flared, as if telling him not to give up. He was beaten and battered, but they had not broken him. Despite what had been done to him, he was still a Yuusha; there was still hope for escape. If he could just pull it off properly...

Marshalling his remaining strength, he kept his body limp, not wanting to give anything away. They always loosened the chains when they were about to start on him. That would be his chance.

They barely glanced at him as they came in, heading over to the machines and sensors, warming up the systems. RaiRyu watched them from barely-lit optics, noting every move they made with the eerie calm of a mind stretched too far past sanity. He held his body perfectly still, his optics following them as they made the changes to the systems for the day's experiments, then moved to loosen his chains...

_Now!_

The yellow mech fired every hydraulic and muscle cable that still functioned, coming to life with a roar and throwing his full multi-ton weight against the loosened chains. Links shattered from the sudden movement, weakened by having supported his full weight for so long. RaiRyu stumbled forward, optics glowing far too bright. His head turned as shouts rang out, too-bright, eerily calm optics fixing on those who'd captured and tormented him. He regarded them for a moment, then struck with every volt of electricity he had left. Machines exploded in fountains of sparks, screens blowing and sending shards flying in every direction. Bodies jerked wildly from the intense electric shock.

Without even noticing, RaiRyu stumbled toward the wall, stretching out his hands. Another blast of electricity caused the barrier to erupt outward, brick and metal flying away from the hole he'd just made. A couple of blows from his more intact hand enlarged it enough for him to get out through, and he staggered into another chamber, this one empty, but the chains on the wall revealed what it had been intended for. RaiRyu had not been intended as their only captive.

The yellow mech bared broken dental plates in a snarl. Lightning crawled over his ruined body, lashing out to fry systems and melt the chains. Crossing the room, he blew out another wall, continuing his slow, unsteady march toward freedom.

--

Mamoru froze as he climbed out of Volfogg's passenger seat, hand on the edge of the doorframe. His hair flashed green, and his head whipped around to stare toward the city.

"Mamoru?" The police car tensed, almost vibrating under his hand. "Is it another of those alien machines?"

The young man shook his head slowly. "No... this is different. Familiar." His eyes closed as he reached out with his senses. "It feels like... G-Stone energy. And like lightning." Green eyes went wide. "G-Stone energy and lightning combined... Volfogg! That's RaiRyu!"

Volfogg was in gear and moving almost instantly, Mamoru throwing himself back into the passenger seat as the door swung shut. The ninja mech contacted FuuRyu; all it took was for him to open contact for the green mech to be on the move. Before long they had the green mech hot on their rear bumper, trailing the other pair of twins, EnRyu and HyoRyu. Mamoru was following the sense of RaiRyu like a compass needle, reaching over to tug lightly at Volfogg's steering wheel. Those light tugs were all that was needed to point Volfogg in the right direction; sirens screaming, the police car whipped around corners and roared down the streets.

"There!" Mamoru pointed.

The indicated structure looked, at first glance, like an innocent abandoned warehouse. But only at first glance. A closer look revealed that it was anything but abandoned, and the power lines were starting to sizzle with overload. The lights were flickering at random, bulbs exploding left and right. Flashes from the windows told of something going on inside, and then a clear arc of lightning sizzled past one high window.

FuuRyu was out of vehicle form and into robot form so fast no one even caught the change. His mixer drum rotated up over his shoulder, releasing a blast of super-compressed air. The wall shattered under the blow, metal mixed with brick, proving that the structure had been reinforced. Though not well enough to withstand a mech as angry as FuuRyu was at the moment.

Volfogg was the first in, a quick flash of purple faintly visible through the smoke, both his boomerangs out and ready. FuuRyu was hot on his trail, mixer drum still up and ready to unleash hell on whoever stood between him and his twin. HyoRyu and EnRyu were in next. Mamoru, hovering above the ground, wings out, debated staying outside and waiting for the others until a cry of horror came from within the revealed base, and that decided him. He went in.

The other three Ryu brothers were standing in the corridor, behind Volfogg, who was just as frozen. All four were staring at something ahead. Mamoru wove past the three taller mechs to land on Volfogg's shoulder, and then he saw what they were staring at.

What stood ahead of them could barely be called a robot anymore. The armor was almost completely missing, and what remained was so stained by spilled fluids, burned, and melted that the original color could not be seen. Circuitry hung in clumps, shredded and sparking. Fluids trickled from a multitude of leaks, staining already-stained armor and leaving a trail behind the robot. Entire systems looked to have been dismantled and then put back together with no care for what went where. The glow of a GS-ride could be seen through the mangled internals, and electricity crackled over exposed systems. Red optics burned far too bright and far too calm in the robot's face, and the lightning was increasing in intensity.

"Rai..." FuuRyu took a hesitant step forward, and red optics immediately shifted to him. The green mech advanced another step, projecting the impression of "not a threat" as much as he could. "RaiRyu..."

The mangled robot paused, staring at the green mech. Recognition flickered in red eyes, and then the robot mouthed FuuRyu's name, though he made no sound. Slowly, the lightning began to disperse.

"That's..." Mamoru gasped softly. He rose from Volfogg's shoulder, dodging the ninja's reflexive attempt to catch hold of him, and slowly flew toward RaiRyu. He looked into red eyes for a long moment, then raised his right hand. RaiRyu's G-Stone glowed brightly in response, and the mech blinked. Madness slowly bled from red eyes, and the formerly yellow mech looked at the others, mouthing names. Then red eyes went dark, and RaiRyu keeled over.

"Rai!" FuuRyu sprang forward, catching his brother and holding him as gently as possible. HyoRyu came forward to help carry RaiRyu as the sound of massive ship engines rose from outside; someone had contacted the Orbit Base. Within minutes GGG personnel were swarming the formerly hidden base while RaiRyu was carried aboard the waiting ship.

There was a gasp of shock and horror from the other GGG staff members when they saw the wreck of FuuRyu's twin. RaiRyu had clearly been to hell and back.

"How is he still functioning?" Liger Shishioh wondered, staring up at the ravaged mech.

"He is, somehow." Ushiyama looked over the readings. "There's acid in his fuel lines, half his systems are shorted out, his vocals are blown... looks like they blew out from sheer overload."

"He screamed until he couldn't scream anymore." Guy let out a snarl. "Who were these people?!"

"From the looks of things, one of those organizations who oppose us," Volfogg reported over an open comm line. "We managed to get that much out of the systems RaiRyu didn't fry. We'll try to get as much out of the survivors as we can... and there aren't many of those. It looks like most of the people in here were electrocuted, and not accidentally."

"From the condition he was in and the state of mind we found him in, I can't say I blame him," Hyuuma muttered. "They tortured him, and from the looks of things they were trying to stop him from escaping. He most definitely was not of sane mind at that point."

"He's still going to have issues," HyoRyu noted from where he stood, watching. "We are programmed and trained not to harm humans. RaiRyu is going to have a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with the fact that he killed."

Work was already underway to stablize RaiRyu's remaining systems. His body was in such a wreck that it couldn't be repaired; a new body had to be built for him. Professor Yan, after getting a heated "I told you so!" from FuuRyu, pitched in as much as he could to help. The new body was ready in record time, and the AI was installed.

Red optics flickered on.

RaiRyu's first instinct was to struggle, to fight. Then he registered that there were no restraints, only energy lines and fluid feeds. Cautiously, he looked around. It took him a moment to recognize his surroundings as the GGG Orbit Base, and the green shape standing nearby as his brother.

"RaiRyu?" FuuRyu took a tentative step forward.

"Fuu... Ryu..." RaiRyu rasped in response, testing out his new vocals. He looked down at himself, seeing yellow and dark grey armor, newly painted and shining. "How...?"

"You managed to escape," FuuRyu answered, taking his hand. "Mamoru sensed you and led us right to where you were being held."

"I... escaped..." RaiRyu frowned as he tried to think. Then his optics widened as he remembered feeling the G-Stone pulsing, and breaking free of his chains. "I did... I got away..."

"What did they do to you?" FuuRyu looked at something on the far side of the room, and RaiRyu followed his gaze to the mangled metal shape being hauled away. It took him a moment for him to realize that the shape was his own body, his old form, too wrecked to repair.

"You don't want to know," RaiRyu told him, voice flat. "It was you they intended to capture in the first place... that would have been you had I not gotten in the way."

FuuRyu winced, tightening his grip on his twin's hand. He had heard Ushiyama list off what had been done to RaiRyu over the course of the three weeks of his captivity. If it had been him in his brother's place, he most likely would have broken. He was sure he would not have lasted a week under that kind of torment.

RaiRyu's optics were on the remains of his old body as it was taken away, thinking hard. He remembered the experiments and torment, the pain and the helpless rage. He remembered chains binding his arms and a collar around his neck, fuel leaking out of the fluid tubes and circuits shorting out. The G-Stone had pulsed, giving him new strength, strength enough to fight for his freedom; he had broken his chains, he remembered that much, and stumbling toward the wall while using his electricity to crack it open...

...bodies thrashing and jerking wildly as a powerful electric shock raced through them, smoking from eyes and mouths, laying in still heaps and burnt to a crisp...

The yellow mech inhaled sharply in shock as horror swept through him, and FuuRyu glanced at him sharply. RaiRyu wore an expression of utter and complete horror, his yellow paint actually paling. It was clear he was remembering something bad.

"Oh... no..." RaiRyu breathed, his voice soft and shaking. "I... I... I killed them..."

"It was them or you; they were going to kill you!" FuuRyu gripped his hands tightly. "They tortured you to within an inch of your life and they were willing to destroy you completely to stop you from escaping. _You were not in control of yourself! It was not your fault!"_

"But... our first priority is to respect life," RaiRyu protested weakly, shaking all over. "And I... I _killed humans!"_ His voice rose in pitch; he was as close to hysterical as a mech could get.

_"You had no choice!" _FuuRyu shook him, and wide red eyes fixed on him. "I was there when you broke out; Mamoru led us right to you. I saw the wreck they had made of your body, and I heard Lieutenant Ushiyama list off what had been done to you. Programming or no programming, you were well within your right to survive. No one here blames you for what happened. It had been brewing since they captured you." He grasped his twin's shoulders, looking him right in the eyes. "It was not your fault, brother."

RaiRyu reached up to grasp his twin's forearms tightly, not saying a word, though his optics spoke volumes. FuuRyu leaned forward until their foreheads touched, and the yellow mech's optics powered down at the familiar touch.

As the days passed, it became clear that RaiRyu was not recovering as well as the others had hoped. He was stricken with nightmares, and he had developed an odd skittishness around humans he didn't know. The wariness seemed to have become written right into his AI, but the worst part was the nightmares. They struck at no set time, occurring without warning and often incapacitating RaiRyu completely. The memories of the torment and of the deaths he had caused kept repeating themselves in his processor, putting him through that hell again and again. He was sure that he had been warped, changed into something else; into a killer, a monster. There were times that he thought he had lost the ability to feel anything but pain and rage.

"You're still yourself," FuuRyu told him softly, embracing his brother and stroking the yellow mech's back, something that HyoRyu had told him worked on EnRyu when the red mech was upset about something. The green mech could feel RaiRyu trembling, his armor rattling faintly against FuuRyu's. RaiRyu buried his face against his green twin's shoulder. "You've just undergone great trauma, and that kind of wound takes a long time to heal."

"I'm not sure if it will ever heal," RaiRyu whispered. "I can't feel... anything but pain... pain and anger..."

"Are you sure about that?" FuuRyu ran his fingers along a seam on his twin's back, and the yellow mech shuddered. "We shall see..."

Thanking RaiRyu's tendency to find somewhere isolated to hide and brood, FuuRyu let his hands wander over his twin's armor, seeking out the spots he knew were sensitive on his own body. RaiRyu shivered in response, breath hitching in his intakes. Dark grey fingers stroked over yellow armor, brushing against the sensitive seams between armor plates, finding a joint to stroke. His yellow twin shivered again, hissing softly into FuuRyu's shoulder.

"Relax," the green mech whispered to him, nuzzling a yellow helm. "Everything will be all right."

"What..." RaiRyu gasped out. "What are you doing?"

"Proving a point." FuuRyu continued to let his hands move over his brother's body while he nipped delicately at the scanner on the side of RaiRyu's helm, holding the yellow mech close as his engine started to purr, vibrating through his body. RaiRyu gasped again as the green mech's purring engine sent vibrations into his body, triggering sensors under his armor. The green mech pressed against RaiRyu, setting off pressure sensors, and the yellow mech trembled from the feedback.

"Fuu..." RaiRyu's legs threatened to give way under him, and he gripped FuuRyu's shoulders.

"Hmm?" FuuRyu maneuvered his twin so that RaiRyu's back was pressed against the wall, nipping at the side of his helm. Not needing to support the yellow mech anymore, FuuRyu could let his hands roam freely over RaiRyu, finding all the most sensitive places.

RaiRyu's mouth worked, but no sound came out. His internals were starting to grow warm, and his own engine started, matching his twin's purr. His circuits were tingling, sending signals of pleasure instead of pain. He was taking in more air, trying to keep his internal heat down. Those touches felt so good...

Dark grey fingers found an access port, caressing the cover before opening it and reaching in to caress the wiring underneath. RaiRyu gasped sharply, eyes flickering. Slowly, gingerly, he began returning the touches, stroking green armor, and the soft hiss from FuuRyu let him know that he was doing it properly. His caresses grew bolder, running along seams and into joints. FuuRyu's engine revved, increasing the vibrations, and RaiRyu let out a low moan as more sensors activated.

The green twin nipped lightly at the rim of RaiRyu's helm, and the yellow mech turned his head just enough to capture FuuRyu's lips in a light kiss. FuuRyu promptly deepened it, to RaiRyu's surprise.

"So," FuuRyu purred once they came up for air. "Does this hurt?"

RaiRyu blinked at him. "...no..."

His slightly older twin smiled. "That's what I've been trying to tell you... You haven't been warped; you were hurt, and that kind of hurt takes time to heal. You have to stop running from the hurt and accept that it did happen, or it will never stop tormenting you." He kissed RaiRyu again. "Now... let's see about making some pleasant memories to balance out the bad..."

He stepped up his assault on his twin's sensor net, stroking and caressing every sensitive spot he could reach. RaiRyu panted, trying to draw in enough air to cool his internals, and soon FuuRyu was doing the same. Metal slid against metal with a subdued rasp, leaving streaks of yellow and green on their paintjobs. Their G-Stones resonated in sync, as one.

Finally, their vision went white, and they clung to each other as the overload crashed over them, hard enough to leave dents. Audible whirs came from within their bodies as their systems rebooted, and they panted heavily to cool their overheating systems. Both of them were covered in streaks of green and yellow paint, though at the moment they could care less.

"Feeling better?" FuuRyu asked.

"Somewhat," RaiRyu admitted, though he knew the nightmares were still looming. They would continue to plague him for a long time. But now he had some hope he could overcome them. It would take longer to be able to accept what he had done. But at least now he wouldn't be alone.

"That's good." FuuRyu slipped an arm around his twin's shoulders. "Now you can stop hiding."

RaiRyu offered a faint grin in response, allowing himself to be led out of the storage room and back to the main mech bay, where the others were waiting. With their help, he could begin to recover, and the rest of GGG would do their best to make sure no one else ever had to undergo that kind of torment. RaiRyu felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to struggle alone. He had his twin, and their brothers HyoRyu and RaiRyu, not to mention Mamoru and his shadow, Volfogg. They were there to help.

The cycle of pain was finally broken.

**Fin.**

Argh! . Another strange ending. What is it with my plot bunnies and running off on my just as I finish a fic?!


End file.
